"Daddy will hit him back for you."

Felix Thorne smiled gently at his daughter, but when he saw the horrifying red handprint on her face, a pain like a knife twisted in his gut. He wished he could mince Bowman Golding and feed him to the pigs. No one had ever laid a finger on his precious daughter, yet this animal had slapped her. The blow had landed on his daughter, but he felt the pain in his own heart. This score would not be settled so easily.

"Which hand did he hit you with? This one?"

Felix Thorne’s voice was calm, but Bowman Golding’s legs turned to jelly, and he could barely stand. As the saying went, if Felix Thorne was yelling furiously, he probably wouldn’t lay a hand on you. But if he spoke to you gently, that’s when you really needed to watch out.

After all, Felix Thorne always had a nice, gentle chat with a pig right before he slaughtered it.

"Uncle Felix... I was wrong... I shouldn’t have hit Nancy. I know I was wrong. Please, spare me..."

Bowman Golding kept begging, snot and tears streaming down his face. He was kicking himself. ’If I’d known this would happen,’ he thought, ’I would’ve just gone up the mountain to clear a new plot myself. It would have only taken half a day’s work. I have no idea what possessed me to convince my parents to snatch the Hawthorne family’s land.’

Just the day before yesterday, he’d agreed with his parents to get up early and come up the mountain to clear a plot for beans. But then yesterday, after listening to his cousin, a wicked idea took root. Why bother clearing his own patch of wilderness? Snatching one that was already prepared would be so much easier. Besides, the Hawthornes were outsiders; they wouldn’t dare fight back. And the Thorne family didn’t seem to care much for these distant relatives, so they surely wouldn’t step in to defend them.

So what was all this, then?

The Thorne family was doing exactly that—standing up for the Hawthornes.

"And you can’t hit Mr. Hawthorne, either! And you stole his land! You’re all shameless!" Nancy shouted.

"This land belongs to Millstone Peak! The Hawthornes are outsiders," Sherman Golding suddenly challenged. "Felix, are you really going to fall out with the Golding family over a bunch of outsiders?"

Felix Thorne didn’t even think, instinctively about to retort, ’Fine by me! You think I’m afraid of the Golding family?’ But before he could, Nancy yelled, "So that means the Golding family can just be unreasonable and act like bandits? Mr. Hawthorne worked so hard to hoe that land, and you just snatch it without a word! You’re reaping what you didn’t sow! You’re robbers and bandits! My daddy helps those who are right, not just his relatives!"

’The Golding and Thorne families were evenly matched in influence,’ she thought. ’Besides, not all the Goldings are bad people, just like there are unsavory members in the Thorne family. I can’t let Sherman Golding lure them into his trap and make an enemy of the entire Golding family.’

Adrian Hawthorne spoke in a cold voice. "I may not have been born on Millstone Peak, but I’ve lived here for four years. My placement here was arranged by the town leadership. I report for work on time and collect my grain rations from the brigade. My mother and I are on the official roster for the Millstone Peak Production Brigade. Legally speaking, I am a resident of Millstone Peak. If you call me an outsider again, you’re expressing dissatisfaction with the town leadership’s arrangements!"

’His father had chosen Millstone Peak precisely because it was remote and beyond the reach of the authorities, a place where they could escape the chaos and conflict of Tristone. He’d spent a great deal of money pulling strings to arrange a transfer from the state farm to Millstone Peak, hoping he and his mother could find refuge here in the mountains.’

’His father had, of course, leveraged his connections in town as well. Otherwise, no matter how much influence Byron Thorne had, the brigade leader would never have dared to let them join the workforce and draw rations from the brigade’s supply on his own authority.’

Sherman Golding was intimidated. He hadn’t expected this bastard, Adrian Hawthorne, to have connections to the town leadership. He didn’t know if it was true or not, but he didn’t dare to curse him anymore. To the villagers, the town leadership were incredibly powerful officials, held in natural reverence. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

The interruption gave Felix Thorne a moment to cool down. Thinking it over, he realized Sherman Golding’s words had been malicious. ’If I had run my mouth just now,’ he thought, ’I would’ve made an enemy of the entire Golding family. Thank goodness my daughter cut in.’

Infuriated, Felix Thorne lashed out with a punch. "You think a shameless son of a bitch like you can represent the entire Golding family? I ought to go ask Third Uncle Golding if his family’s code is to be bandits and thieves!"